Canberra
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday announced plans to restrict children’s use of social media. According to reports, the Prime Minister said the government will introduce legislation to impose a minimum age for access to social media and other related digital platforms in 2024. “We know social media is causing social harm. It is distancing children from real friends and real experiences,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.
The law will be drafted after consultation with states and union territories, but their preference is to set the minimum age at 16. According to an Australian Broadcasting Corporation survey in August, 61 per cent of Australians supported restricting social media access to people under the age of 17.
South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas tasked former federal judge Robert French with exploring legal ways to ban children under the age of 14 from social media. The prime minister said the federal government would consider Robert French’s review when drafting legislation.
